The Great Sherwood Chase
by Shade Salogel
Summary: The Sheriff of Nottingham attempts to escape the insanity of Sherwood. Set in the universe of the Facebook app "Robin Hood", and sequel to "A Day in the Life of the Sheriff of Nottingham".


The Great Sherwood Chase

Disclaimer: This story is just for fun! I hope you enjoy it—any feedback is greatly appreciated. Please ask my permission if you want to use any of these ideas. This is the sequel to the story, A Day in the Life of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

This story was written to go with the Facebook application game of Robin Hood. If you haven't played Robin Hood, this story probably won't make sense.

Getting out of Nottingham castle was not easy, since all of the secret passages were clogged with outlaws. However, when Geoffrey announced an archery tournament in five minutes, the halls cleared. The former sheriff glanced at Clifton.

"It seems, my friend, that spying on you is much less important than wining an archery tourney."

Clifton snorted. "That's fine with me—I'm tired of handing out copies of your secret plans. Let them go try to win a flag."

"Do you think any of them read the plans enough to realize just how impossible they are?"

"Of course not—they just send them off to King Richard." The brown-haired man shook his head. "I'm certain the king is wondering why we want to move England to the middle of the Sahara."

At the end of the secret passage, the men crept out into the cover of some bushes. They came face to face with an outlaw. Clifton hit the man over the head, knocking him out, and glanced at the handful of feathers the man had. "Just a peasant—doesn't even have a band yet."

Getting through the actual village of Nottingham was pitifully easy. Word had spread like a fire that there was an archery tournament, so all of the outlaws were at the archery field. And almost all of the villagers were up at the castle, waiting to give the sheriff their complaints.

"I don't think we should chance any of the paths," Geoffrey said, as they reached the edge of Sherwood.

"No, probably not. And we should avoid all log bridges."

"Let's go, then." The two men slipped into the forest, leaving only a few birds to witness their departure.

Two days later, Geoffrey and Clifton were still in Sherwood. It hadn't taken long for the outlaws to realize that without the sheriff and the captain, they couldn't finish several quests.

"Someone's coming," Geoffrey breathed, crouching lower in the shrubbery. Both men concealed themselves and held their breath as a small band of twenty outlaws went by.

Clifton stood once the band was gone, brushing leaves out of his hair. "They're getting closer all the time. We have to get out of this forest, soon."

"We're a lot closer than you think." Twenty-five outlaws, dressed in Lincoln-green appeared out of the bushes, surrounding the men. The man who had spoken stepped forward, grinning at their wide-eyed shock.

"Robin! Don't do that to me!" Geoffrey said, glaring at the famous outlaw. "You nearly made my heart stop!"

Laughing, Robin Hood clasped Geoffrey's hand. "That would be a must unfortunate end to our rivalry, my old friend."

"What do you want, Robin?" The man asked, crossing his arms and scowling. Robin Hood took a childish delight in startling Geoffrey and would gloat for weeks after each success.

"I heard rumors that you and Clifton resigned and left Nottingham. I take it those rumors are true, then?"

"Yes. We've had enough of this competition nonsense." Geoffrey paused as a deer crashed through forest nearby, pursued by two dozen men. None of the outlaws with Robin Hood did more than glance at the deer, although they stood tense until the outlaws were gone.

"Why did you track us, Robin?" the former sheriff asked, as a terrible suspicion formed in his mind. "If you're here to take us back, it won't happen."

Robin shook his head, sending a disgusted glare at the people at the people chasing down the deer. "No. We won't take you back to that—that place of chaos."

Uncharacteristically, Robin paused, squirming a little. That stopped when Marian elbowed him. "We're here to help you."

"What?" Geoffrey and Clifton gaped at him.

The man sighed, and sent a glare at his wife. "My dear wife has pointed out that if I let those amateurs try to capture you, you'll do something stupid if you can't escape. So, we're going to help you leave before we go into hiding."

After a moment of stunned silence, Geoffrey shook his head. "We would be most grateful for your help, Robin. And your knowledge of the forest will be most useful. Let's go!"

The group made excellent time, as Robin led them through parts of the forest that few of the outlaw bands had explored. At one point, they all heard the sound of distant, hollow whacks.

"What was that?" Clifton asked, trying to peer through the underbrush to locate the source of the sounds. Robin motioned for them to be quiet.

"It's a strange game some of the older outlaw bands play—they call it 'whack a mole.'" Robin said, after the noises had died down. "Some of the smaller bands don't obey the rules of the forest, so these bands help them want to obey the rules."

They soon came to a part of the forest that was open and filled with light. Robin warned them to be quiet. "This is where the greenhouses are. All of the fruit for those quests comes from here. You two will have to stay out of sight—the people who issued the challenge take care of the trees, and they will not let you get away."

Exchanging a glance, both Geoffrey and Clifton prudently tucked themselves behind Little John, hoping to stay out of sight. Robin led the group straight past the greenhouses, nodding politely to the people tending to the pomegranate trees. After they were past the greenhouses, Marian stepped forward to take Robin's arm. "Must we go this way, Robin?"

"If we want to avoid any of the bands after the good sheriff, yes," Robin said, looking around and then going into some trees behind the greenhouses. "Walk on the other side of Little John and Friar Tuck, since the rabbit pens bother you so much."

"Rabbit pens?" Geoffrey asked, watching as Marian immediately went and hid herself between the two men.

Robin shrugged. "All those lucky rabbit feet have to come from somewhere. But don't worry, it was all very humanely done—and they have much better lives here in the pens than they would out in the wild."

Little John awkwardly patted Marian on the shoulder. "Don't worry, they're very happy here."

Not long after that, they went past the mines. Piles of gems were outside each of the mines, waiting to be awarded to outlaw bands who won a quest.

"I take it we're in the staging area where the people who masterminded this challenge work?"

"Yes. This is their base of operations." Robin pointed to different areas of the forest. "In that direction is where they sew up the pouches, flags and pennants. Over there, with the smoke, is where they smelt the cloak pins, emblems, goblets, and rings. In that area are the bird cages—there are a lot of naked birds. Avoid that place; those things are ugly without their feathers!"

"They must have prepared for months before issuing the challenge!" Clifton said, shaking his head. "I wonder if they were expecting such a large response, though."

The outlaw shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care. As soon as there's a clear winner of this competition, I'm going to challenge them myself and take back my spot as the best outlaw in the world!"

Marian coughed delicately, and Robin wilted from his heroic pose. The man exchanged a chagrinned glance with Geoffrey. "I don't get to have any fun now. Marian wants me to give up robbing and retire to London," the man whispered, glancing over his shoulder at his wife.

At one point, a gnome covered in rabbit fur appeared out of the bushes in front of them, holding several pieces of parchment close to his chest and looking over his shoulder warily. "Hullo, gnome!" Robin said, cheerfully. "Still trying to keep those parchments safe? You might have better fortunes in town!" The group moved on, leaving the gnome behind.

Several minutes later, Robin faltered. The clearing just in front of them was full of outlaw bands—they were all talking. There was no way to go back without arousing suspicion, so Robin straightened and boldly went forward.

"Look! It's Robin Hood!"

Immediately, hundreds of outlaws swarmed them—all eagerly introducing themselves to Robin. Many of the ladies found Lady Marian and mobbed her. Every member of Robin's band had some long-term fans tripping over each other to greet them.

Geoffrey and Clifton slipped back from the mob, watching as Robin preened in all of the praise he was getting. "He complains about the contest, but I think he enjoys the attention and the challenge." Geoffrey said.

Suddenly, Sulerina, one of the outlaw band leaders talking with Marian, paused. "Isn't that the Sheriff of Nottingham? And the Captain of the Guard?" she asked, pointing to the two men. Both men exchanged a glance, trying to decide if they should run or bluff their way out.

"It is them! Get them!" a voice called from Sulerina's band of five hundred. "Bring them back to Nottingham!"

As several hundred outlaws started towards them, Geoffrey and Clifton bolted into the trees. No matter what they did, the men were unable to loose all of their pursuers. Soon they were in more populated parts of the forest. A newer outlaw, Lady Cherie of Oz, spotted them. "Is this a new upper-level quest? Chase the Sheriff?" she asked, and eagerly joined in with her small band.

Two miles later, both men were exhausted. They slowed to a walk, since most of their pursuers were a few hundred yards behind. The king's forester, Reynolds, came running up behind them. He was as trim and wiry as a greyhound.

"Ah, Sheriff! And Captain Clifton! Are you joining me on my daily run? It's an excellent way to get in shape," the man said, voice jovial. He was jogging in place. Behind him straggled several outlaws—they were all gasping for air, and a few collapsed. "I just finished my ten mile circuit of the forest—most of these outlaws are in very poor shape! I must admit, at first this daily chase was a bit much for me, but now, I've never been in better shape!"

"Do you have to go so fast?" One of the outlaws asked, and her band mates nodded in agreement.

Reynolds laughed. "I wasn't going fast at all, Merry Maid! See if you can keep up for this round!" The man started running again, and quickly outdistanced Merry Maid and her band.

Geoffrey and Clifton looked at each other, then back at the people chasing them. Sulerina's band was catching up. Before they could start running again, Robin stepped around a tree. "Oh, excellent! I was afraid I lost you! Come on, this way!"

With Robin's help, the two men were able to escape the outlaws chasing them. Robin left them at the edge of Sherwood forest. None of the outlaw bands could go out of the forest or they would lose their place in the challenge.

"I wish you well in your travels, my friend. When this is all over, I hope you will return!" Robin called after them as they walked out from under the trees onto the dusty road.

Clifton hid a smile. "After all, who could possibly challenge the great Robin Hood except for the Sheriff of Nottingham?"


End file.
